Preserve · field guide
How to Store Winter Squash, Onions, and Potatoes
Some of the best storage crops need no canning or freezing at all. Winter squash, onions, garlic, and potatoes will keep for months if you cure them and store them right. Get the conditions wrong and they sprout or rot in weeks. Here is how to do it.
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Cure them first
Curing dries the skins so the crop stores well. It is the step most people skip.
- Winter squash: cure 10 days in a warm, dry spot (80 to 85 F) until the skin is hard.
- Onions and garlic: cure 2 to 3 weeks in a dry, airy place until the necks are papery.
- Potatoes: cure 1 to 2 weeks in the dark at 50 to 60 F to toughen the skins.
Give each crop the right conditions
After curing, the storage spot decides how long they last:
- Winter squash: 50 to 55 F, dry, with air around each fruit. Keeps 2 to 6 months depending on type.
- Onions and garlic: cool, dark, and dry, ideally 32 to 40 F or a cool pantry. Keeps 3 to 6 months.
- Potatoes: 40 to 45 F, dark, and slightly humid. Light turns them green and bitter, so keep them covered. Keeps 3 to 6 months.
Keep potatoes and onions apart
Stored together, onions and potatoes make each other spoil faster, so keep them in separate bins. Check everything once a month and pull any soft or sprouting ones before they spread. One rotten potato really does ruin the bin.
The honest part: not everything stores dry
Summer squash, tomatoes, and most other vegetables will not keep this way. Those you freeze, dry, or can. Dry storage is for the thick-skinned keepers: winter squash, onions, garlic, and potatoes.
Questions, answered straight
Cured and stored at 50 to 55 F, most keep 2 to 6 months. Butternut and other hard squashes store longest; thinner-skinned types are shorter.
Light exposure. Green skin means a buildup of solanine, which is bitter and not good to eat. Store potatoes in the dark, covered, at 40 to 45 F.
No. They spoil each other faster. Keep them in separate bins in a cool, dark spot, and check monthly for soft ones.
No. An unheated basement, garage, or closet that stays cool works. The keys are the right temperature, darkness, and airflow, not a special room.
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